Parallel
by Kherezae
Summary: A collection of loosely related Rikucentric oneshots spanning all three games. One sided SoRiku.
1. The Door

- **p**ar**a**lle**l** -

One-sided SoRiku; standard 'not mine' disclaimer; these oneshots may be set during any of the three games and may include spoilers. This collection is Riku-centric, and is pretty much one-sided. Each 'chapter' is a oneshot, a standalone, but there is a thread connecting them. I may use different tenses or points of view for each one-shot depending on what I think feels right. Reviews and concrit are love; flamers are pointed and laughed at (but I know the difference between harsh concrit and flaming); if you ever just want to chat, feel free to PM me or check my profile for contact info.

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- t**h**e **d**oo**r** -

The raft is gone.

The place where it stood lies marked by a depression of the sand; between that depression and the sea the sand is disturbed. They dragged the raft to the water and set sail. Water laps up over the trail, swirling over the sand. Beyond that the sea—and beyond that the horizon, stained red, purple, and gold by the sunset. Water rolls over his ankles as he wades out into the ocean, scanning the horizon for the raft…

Nothing.

How could Sora and Kairi leave him behind? Maybe they don't need him. And maybe he doesn't _need_ them, but he doesn't want to face the island without them. So how could they leave him?

Because they have each other.

The sea water pulls away, shrinking from his thighs down to calf level, and ahead he can see the wave forming to wash over him. The water turns inky black, like liquid shadow, ready to swallow him up.

_Riku!_

Shadow clings to his legs, slowing him, as he turns—and there is Sora, fighting through the water toward him. Sora didn't leave him after all. Riku holds a hand out toward him, watching the way the darkness in the water pulls away from him as he runs—when Sora reaches him, he'll bring the light back.

But the current is too strong. Sora reaches for Riku's hand, their fingertips inches apart, but the black wave presses in against Riku's back, icy and threatening against his skin before it ever crashes down over him. It swallows him… He can feel the darkness all around him, icy cold, creeping in closer. Sora struggles in the water, trying to swim to Riku, and the shadow still strays away from him. If Riku can keep close to Sora… he puts out his hand again, but Sora can't reach. The current drags him away, and the darkness sweeps in.

The cold tendrils spiderweb through his body, but he doesn't struggle. Maybe he forgot, or… he isn't scared. He doesn't feel the clench of fear in his stomach, sure enough… he just feels numb. The darkness isn't so bad.

_You aren't afraid? The darkness will consume you… if you let it._

The world spins into focus around him… Stone, white chalk marring its surface, or maybe perfecting it. Riku knows this place well; the chalk drawings bring a familiar warmth back to his heart. Fond memories.

And ahead… a door. The wooden door that can't be opened. A keyhole is blazoned across its surface—Riku has seen it there once before, but it was years ago. He thought he imagined it.

_Choose your path wisely. The darkness is more powerful than you know._

That voice. He doesn't know where it's coming from. _I'm not afraid. I'm stronger than the darkness._ He presses his palm against the lock on the door.

_Are you?_

A faint click.

Sora's face flickers through his mind, grinning.

_You wanted to see other worlds…_ This voice is different from the other—dry, laced with subtle irony.

The darkness takes Sora's face away.

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- y**o**ur fr**i**end**l**y **n**eig**h**borho**o**d kher**gasm** -

Mmkay, it took me long enough to get off my ass and start this. So. This is Riku's dream at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts. I figure… he had to have had one too, right? Timing is arguable… it could be before or after Sora's, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure how well I like it… I expected the dream to last longer, but this is the way it wanted to come out, so here it is.


	2. Paopu

- **p**ar**a**lle**l** -

One-sided SoRiku; standard 'not mine' disclaimer; these oneshots may be set during any of the three games and may include spoilers. This collection is Riku-centric, and is pretty much one-sided. Each 'chapter' is a oneshot, a standalone, but there is a thread connecting them. I may use different tenses or points of view for each one-shot depending on what I think feels right. Reviews and concrit are love; flamers are pointed and laughed at (but I know the difference between harsh concrit and flaming); if you ever just want to chat, feel free to PM me or check my profile for contact info.

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- pa**o**p**u** -

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora mused as he sat beside Kairi on the bent trunk of the paopu tree, watching the sun begin to set. Riku had known Sora for so long that it didn't surprise him that Sora's thoughts had been following the same track as his own. The raft was nearly finished, and soon they would set sail for other worlds.

"Could be," Riku answered as he gazed off across the water. "We'll never know by staying here."

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sora leaned past Kairi to ask him, "But how far will a raft take us?"

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else," Riku replied.

"So, suppose you get to another world," Kairi murmured, watching Riku. You, she said, as if Riku was going alone. Between the dream he'd had earlier that day and the conversation he'd overheard her having with Sora, he half-thought she planned to leave him behind and sail off with Sora. She giggled and continued, "What would you do there?"

That was a good question. "Well, I haven't really thought about it," he admitted. He remembered the weird dream… "It's just… I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

Sora wore that confused expression of his as he turned and laid back against the trunk of the paopu tree. "I don't know," he said.

"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff," Riku pointed out. "So let's go."

He didn't like the expression Kairi wore when she said, "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?"

_So have you,_ he thought. _Thinking of sailing off with Sora and leaving me here. Haven't you?_ He glanced past her to Sora and wondered if he would really ever leave Riku behind… He wasn't sure. Sora might well do anything for Kairi. "Thanks to you," he told Kairi, paying attention to Sora where he sat behind Kairi. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." He noticed Sora look up, give a little roll of his eyes, and then stare out over the water to the sunset. "Kairi, thanks," Riku added.

She giggled and replied, "You're welcome."

The three of them got up to leave; they would be expected home soon. Kairi ran laughing across the bridge connecting the paopu island to the rest of their island playground, and Sora followed slightly behind her. Riku started to follow, but a sudden impulse took him, and he hung back for a moment to leap up the trunk of the paopu tree and pluck one of the star-shaped fruits growing on it.

Paopu in hand, he sprinted after Sora. On the bridge he stopped and called out, "Sora," throwing the fruit to his younger friend. Sora caught it with a startled expression and looked askance at Riku. "You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku said in response to that look. Of course Sora didn't; he'd said nothing of the sort. But instinct had grabbed hold of Riku, and he was following it.

"A paopu fruit," Sora murmured quizzically as he held the thing in his hands.

Riku felt his chest tighten as he explained, "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." He took a few steps forward, drawing even with Sora on the bridge. He was caught between two half-mad impulses: run and put this off as some silly game, or stay and follow the impulse through to its end. "C'mon, I know you want to try it." _With me._ But the words wouldn't come out. What was he even thinking? Paopu fruit was for lovers, not for best friends…

"What are you talking"—

Riku's laughter cut Sora off. He jogged past Sora over the bridge, running to catch up with Kairi.

That sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach… he should have said it. Two simple words. He couldn't help but feel that he'd just missed the only opportunity he'd have… but opportunity for what, he wasn't sure.

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- y**o**ur fr**i**end**l**y **n**eig**h**borho**o**d kher**gasm** -

I cheated. I confess. The majority of this is from a roleplay intro of mine… it fit, so I used it once I'd edited it sufficiently and changed the ending. I hope it doesn't suck, but eh, what're ya gonna do? Sorry for the wait, I was away for the weekend. Friend's birthday… tattoo, piercing… fun times.


End file.
